Budding Love
by MC Bossk and DJ-88
Summary: "Of all the things that could happen to me, I have to have these… feelings for him. Never in a thousand season cycles would I have thought this possible… but it is becoming more apparent that it is true… I love Jake Sully..." Tsu'tey x Jake (U no like, U no read) Contains attempted suiside, a little angst, a pinch of xenophilia, and mild fluff. Enjoy :) {Nolonger a one-shot!}
1. Repressed Feelings

Tsu'tey quietly watches from a distance as Jake Sully mourns over a fresh grave, the place where they laid Neytiri's body to rest. She had died trying to save the Dreamwalker from the demon named Quaritch, and had succeeded, though with the price of her own life. Since he was fully brought into his Na'vi body, when his duties are finished, Jake would quietly slip away from the tribe and quietly mourn his deceased mate. Moat had tried to console him several days ago, but had been met with a quiet angry glare that had silenced her. That is also when she had approached Tsu'tey and had asked him to keep watch over the Dreamwalker, to make sure that he doesn't cause harm to himself. Of course he hasn't tried to cause self-harm, but Tsu'tey could see her cause for concern and so has done as she asked; keeping a close eye on him whenever he came to Neytiri's grave.

However he doesn't have to be the one to keep watch. He could easily have another take this task, there are many better things he could be doing that were more important that required his supervision than watching the Dreamwalker grieve. But it wasn't his promise to Moat that kept him at his appointed post, but an aching feeling in his heart that forbade him from leaving. Tsu'tey was saddened by Neytiri's death as much as any of the other Na'vi, but in a dark part in the back of his mind, he is a little pleased at her passing. This thought immediately was pushed back when Tsu'tey bit his lip, drawing a bit of blood. _'I will not think that way, if she was anything to me, she was a friend. No one should be glad at the passing of another.'_ From the beginning the Omaticaya knew of Tsu'tey's hatred of the Dreamwalker, as it was more than apparent. But this hatred wasn't caused by his natural hate of the sky demons, not entirely. Nor does it stem from Neytiri mating with someone else; he never really loved her, it was simply tradition for the Tashik to be the mate of the clan leader. It was the fact that Jake Sully, mated with _her._ That Jake chose _her_ over _him_. Moat had told Neytiri to teach Jake of their ways, but even when he offered Neytiri on rare occasion to take Jake hunting or help him with his poor riding skills, she only laughed thinking it was a joke and then went to help Jake with exactly what he wanted to help him with.

'_It is no mystery why he chose her. She was everything I am not, kind, compassionate, loving, everything I cannot and refuse to be. It is my own fault, I liked him when I first truly saw him, knew that I wanted to have him as a mate, but the suddenness of these unknown feelings... It scared me… I was a coward and gave into the fear…'_ Crossing his arms, Tsu'tey leans against the tree behind him, eyes closed as he remembers all of the harsh things he said and did to Jake, all the taunts, the jeers, the physical challenges that he wouldn't even have the other Na'vi do, that he made Jake do to try and break him. But every time Jake would do it, usually with some odd sky person curse or roll of his eyes, but he did it. With every insult or jab at his faults Jake would shrug it off and usually laugh with Tsu'tey. It was a challenge in which Jake kept excelling at… A particularly loud sob caught his ears and when he opened his eyes, he saw Jake sitting on the ground with his knife drawn and slowly raising it to strike at himself. Tsu'tey did not hesitate, he sprinted up to him and quickly knocked the knife from his grasp and wrapped his arms and legs tightly around Jake, effectively pinning his arms to his sides and using his weight to keep him sitting on the ground.

Jake thrashed around the best he could, begging for Tsu'tey to let go, to let him get his knife and end his misery once and for all. But just as quickly as it began, the thrashing stopped and Jake went limp in Tsu'tey's strong grip; crying out loudly and breaking down into violent sobs that shook his whole body. At a complete loss of what to do, he continued to hold onto Jake, going as far as to rock him back and forth slowly and attempt to whisper comforting words.

Eventually after a long period of time Jake calmed down and relaxed fully into Tsu'tey's arms. Instantly a thought crossed Tsu'tey's mind, and although he wanted to shove it down like he has done for so long, it burst forth… and slowly he began to gently rub small circles into Jake's stomach. Jake tensed at first but quickly relaxed again, leaning his head back onto Tsu'tey's shoulder, eyes lidded. Jake's back is fully press against Tsu'tey's chest and neither seemed to dislike the situation as both of their eyes close, enjoying the feeling and warmth of the other. But when both felt odd little sensations over their bodies they opened their eyes to see not just a few, not a couple, but dozens perhaps even close to a hundred of white glowing seeds of Eywa floating around the two Na'vi in circles while a few rested on their blue skin, and when they looked up the largest of the seeds was floating over both of them, almost like a halo. The seeds cast a brilliant glow over them as they danced and floated in circles around pair, and they continued their dance until the sun began to set through the trees and the sky began to turn a rich orange color. They began to slowly drift away until only the large seed was left. Quiet as a ghost it drifted down slowly to touch both of their heads, Jake's first then Tsu'tey's, before it too flew away into the fading light of the evening. Neither moved for a long time, both stunned to silence by what they had just witnessed. When Tsu'tey went to move his now stilled hand from Jake's stomach he found that Jake had gripped his hand with his own, light enough to where he hadn't noticed it but it was still firm.

"Tsu'tey…" Jake said tentatively. Tsu'tey swallowed a growing lump in his throat.

"Yes Jakesully?" A pause.

"What just happened?"

"I… do not know." He lied. Tsu'tey knew what it most likely meant and while he was both overjoyed and frightened, he doesn't know how to say it in a way that won't cause Jake to be either mad or worse, start crying again. Silence ruled for what seemed like an eternity as the light continued to fade and the bio-luminescent fauna began to glow brighter. But then Jake suddenly let go of Tsu'tey's hand and stood up, accidentally knocking him back onto the ground.

"Uhh… sorry, but I uh…" He gestured back to where the tribe was most likely making the evening meal. Tsu'tey simply nodded and Jake quickly walked out of sight. Standing up Tsu'tey dusted himself off and readjusted his scant clothing before walking in the same direction as his destined-to-be mate had gone. Along the way however he swore he heard a familiar female laugh come from behind him, but when he looked he only saw the distant lump of soil that was Neytiri's grave.

* * *

Well, how that for a first AVATAR fanfic? I cannot believe that this is the first I'm writing since AVATAR is my absolute FAVORITE movie of the century! Well anyway please review and let me know if I should make more or not. Hope you all enjoyed it :3


	2. Jake's Calling

Two weeks have passed since the… incident… with Tsu'tey and Jake still had no clear idea of what had happened. Then again he hadn't really told anyone about what had happened to get their opinions, but to be frank he just wanted to forget the whole thing happened. _'Though I suppose some good did come of it, I mean, I haven't been back to her grave in almost eight days. Hell, I've even gotten a proper position now helping Mo'at, not really sure why the others keep givin' me looks but whatever.'_ Speaking of Mo'at Jake sped up his pace, already late with meeting up with her to help collect plants. He didn't particularly consider it an interesting job, nor very fun when compared to hunting on an ikran, but he certainly wasn't going to miss having to clean his kill before taking it back to the tribe.

Brushing aside a few fern-like plants he walked into a small clearing where Mo'at sat cross legged on a large woven mat, and even though her face remained neutral he could feel her radiating irritation. As he approached she slowly seemed to relax, gesturing to sit opposite her on the mat. A little confused Jake sat down. She opened a small satchel to her right and began to remove varied plants and leafs, some of which he recognized while others were odd and unknown. Though, before he could voice his question, she spoke as she arranged the plants into small piles in the open space between them.

"It appears Jakesully, that your destiny has yet to truly end." Jake blinked dumbly.

"What?" Looking up she gestured at the piles.

"What do you see before you?" Getting the distinct feeling that they weren't going to go gather the plants anymore he looked down at the ones set before him. There were five piles, each a different color and plant or plant part.

"I see plants. Mo'at I thought we-" instantly she shushed him while glaring. Clearly Neytiri had gotten the glaring gene from her mother.

"No! No thought, look at the colors, what they speak to you?" Not entirely sure what she wanted he turned his gaze back to the colors. The first pile was a small collection of blue leafs that had slightly darker blue stripes… and that's it. Nothing special, nothing magical or… well… anything. But he concentrated anyway, practically burning the color into his eyes watching it so intently. And truth be told, a marine can only watch a pile of leafs for so long… which was a grand total of thirty seconds. He closed his eyes and rubbed them.

'_What is it she wants me to see? It's just a blue leaf with slightly darker blue stripes.'_ And just as he was about to open his eyes and voice his displeasure a tiny noise was heard. Jake's ears perked at the sound but his eyes remained shut, concentrating on the tiny noise just outside of his hearing. He briefly thought about the leaf, thinking this is possibly what she was saying, when a tiny voice seemed to whisper in his head.

'_Na'vi'._ His eyes snapped open; his gaze instantly going to the pile of blue leafs. Indeed, they were the same color as a Na'vi and the stripes were similar as well. Surprised as well as excited he was about to speak when Mo'at put a finger to his lips, silencing him yet again. Removing her finger she gestured to the other piles. Nodding Jake did the same with the others, concentrating not on just the plant or leaf, but on the color and what it represented. The second pile is made up of pink roots.

'_Alright… pink… uhhh… girly?… female?... uh…'_

'_Love'._ Came the little voice again.

'_That was my next guess.'_ The voice did not reply. Jake couldn't help but smile as he felt he was getting the hang of whatever Mo'at was having him do. The third pile caught his eye and he turned to examine this new color combo. This looked like a gathering of fern leafs, but the colors were way off. Instead of green they were a swirling mixture of orange and yellow. Thinking of what it meant was rather difficult, as orange and yellow together is not very common. He reached out halfway, looking up at Mo'at for permission to take the leafs. She nodded and Jake took two of the large leafs. Turning them over in his hands he ran over just about everything he could think of but that little voice didn't come back. However he chuckled when he turned them right side up in his hands. _'Kinda reminds me of those feathers Mo'at braided into Tsu'tey's hair. Orange and yellow is really not his color.'_

'_Olo'eyktan'. _And boom goes the dynamite. Jake practically face palmed himself at his revelation, as orange and yellow was the traditional colors of the clan leader. After figuring out the first three colors the next two were easy. The fourth was picked petals from a flower of some kind, all the color red. And the only one who wore almost all red was Mo'at. _'Tsahik'_. The fifth was a pile of tiny seeds that had as many meanings as there were different colors. Almost like a filler for all the other feelings and stuff. Slowly he began to gather all of the different plants and things, putting it all in his hands; Mo'at simply sat and watched as he cupped his hands and shook them about before letting it all drop between them. Many of the seeds scattered with the roots and the petals and leafs, however what was left behind was like a clear cut message on a screen. The blue leafs all landed in a pile, a few seeds landed amongst them.

'_The Na'vi are happy, rejoicing, celebrating, at peace.'_ Above the pile is one of the orange and yellow fern leafs which is connected to a single red petal with a pink root. Jake's face scrunched at that. _'Alright… that can't be right, that's just…'_ Jake cringed at the thought of Mo'at and Tsu'tey. But as he looked again he saw another petal further off to the side with a seed on it. The petal was withered and a darker less vibrant red while the seed gave off a feeling of a sad farewell. Jake looked back at the connected petal which looked fresh and new. While he was glad his first interpretation was way off the mark he was apprehensive as to what this meant. Jake rubbed his eyes again and looked up at Mo'at.

"Wow." Was all he said. Mo'at smiled and reached into her satchel again, this time retrieving a single loop of beads, all the beads different shades of red, and what appeared to be a leather bracelet that had two red feathers attached to it that hung loosely. She took his arm and slipped the bracelet around his wrist and slid it up his arm to his bicep where it snuggly stayed. Jake then accepted the loop of beads and put it around his neck, and then it clicked in his head. But when he looked down at the leafs and seeds to make sure what he had read from them was true, the leaves were no longer brightly colored and in a readable order. Instead they were the natural green, dully blue, and brown colors they should be and in a large messy pile. "Mo'at I-" She held up a hand.

"It is not my place to know, what you see is for you only." Jake swallowed hard and looked her in the eye.

"Am I to become the next Tsahik?" Mo'at sagely inclined her head.

"You have proven you have connection, you would have not seen if it was not there. It is rare gift." A smile once again spreads across her wrinkled features. "And confirms what I knew." Jake is positively dumbstruck at this point, and he wanted to know what had made her think he would make a good shaman. But at the same time he thinks it's just one of those things he's not meant to understand, or at least not yet. Mo'at collected the leafs and plant bits, placing them by a tree saying a quick prayer before having Jake collect the woven mat and carry it back with them to home tree. She elaborated on a _few_ of the things that he must learn which consisted of all of the songs, rituals, prayers, history, traditions, and all the names in the Omaticaya.

'_Well this is going to be oh so very fun…'_ Jake thought ruefully as they made their way back. But it seems he forgot, if only for a moment, that with becoming the Tsahik he also becomes the Olo'eyktan's mate.

* * *

Well how about that, I went and made a second chapter! And I hope to have another one up this week. This oneshot just turned into a chapter story, hope you guys like what I have in store! Read and review please :)


	3. Coming to Terms

Alright, first off thank you to all you readers who are reading this. I really hope you are enjoying the story so far. Also in advance I want to just say all mistakes are mine, don't be afraid to point them out. My beta reader wasn't able to go over it today but I wanted to have this up tonight sooo… yeah. I'll have him go over it when he can and I'll fix it up if it needs it. And don't forget to leave a Review here and there, I crave your feedback as to if I'm doing it right or not. Thanks again, and enjoy :)

"Human speach."

_'Thoughts'_

_{Na'vi speach.}_

* * *

Jake sits next to Mo'at in her 'shaman hut', quietly weaving a small basket. Mo'at had been teaching him how to make one most of the morning after the test, saying it would be necessary for some rituals as different colors meant different things for different events and ceremonies and such. It was slow going but it was kinda fun, almost like being back in grade school again. Back when Tommy and him would get into paint fights and end up looking like a rainbow had thrown up on the two of them on the way to the principal's office. A knocking sound near the covered entrance drew his attention and quickly he smiled knowing only one person would knock politely before entering. Norm peeked his head in the open doorway before entering, slightly hunched over.

"Still not used to just wearing a loincloth huh?" Norm gave a half smile. _'For a guy who wanted to be a Na'vi so bad, who knew he was so self conscious about his body? I mean, they're practically naked ALL the time!'_ "Anyway how's the body holdin' up?" Even after his body had been recovered and healed up he occasionally had minor discomfort.

"Ah, y'know, pretty good. The spasms are almost all gone in the arm though stretching is still a bit uncomfortable. Another two weeks and I'll be in top shape!" They laughed a bit, seeming to forget Mo'at was sitting right next to Jake, though from the upward curl at the corners of her mouth she didn't mind. When the laughing died down Norm noticed the new additions to his usual apparel, seeing him staring Jake smiled and turned sideways a bit for him to get a better look.

"Cool huh? Turns out special little me, Mr. Toruk Makto, is also going to be the next Tsahik! Who'd have thought?" Norm's eyes are as large as dinner plates, but he seemed more shocked than excited. "Don't get too excited, you might faint."

"You mean… you're ok with this?" Jake cocked an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't I be?" his smile turned cocky, "Upset that I'm gonna be Tsahik instead of you?" Norm shook his head, the look of shock not lessening.

"I'm just… surprised is all, I mean, you're taking it better than I thought." Jake shrugged, returning to his weaving.

"Eh, it was a bit of a shock at first but I actually like it a lot."

"What does Tsu'tey think?"

"He's gonna like it one way or another." At that Norm let at a not so manly giggle. Mo'at stood, saying that she had something important to do but to keep at it until she returned. Jake had nodded and left leaving Norm and Jake alone. After a while of silence a mischievous look overcame Norm.

"So… when you planning on mating with Tsu'tey?" the delicate weave Jake had be making at that moment snapped causing Norm to laugh while Jake's mouth went dry.

"W-what?!" Norm rolls his eyes.

"Oh don't play that card I'm the only gay human…Na'vi… whatever left on this planet! I mean, I just KNEW you were a closet case but cut a guy some slack, just promise to give me the details when you two-"

"NORM!" Jake yelled, slightly panicked, "What are you _talking_ about? I would never mate Tsu'tey! He's my friend and nothing else, what would give you an idea like that?!" Norm was now both confused and a little worried.

"You mean you didn't know?" Jake threw his half-woven basket aside, instantly undoing the whole thing, but the angry glint in his eye made it clear that he didn't care.

"Explain… now."

^-oo0oo-^

Tsu'tey walked back into Hometree after making his morning rounds of checking up on current projects, the current food supply, and visiting the children learning to shoot bows for the first time. Even though most days he would rather ride his Pa'li out in the trees and hunt with the others, he couldn't really complain about his current duties. Not that he really wanted to, since his position of Olo'eyktan was what he always wanted. Heading towards the Mid-day cooking fires to eat quietly Mo'at appeared at his side.

_{I see you Mo'at.}_ He greeted.

_{I see you Tsu'tey.}_ Was her reply, however he brow furrowed, _{you appear troubled, is there something wrong?}_ Tsu'tey bit his lip and stopped; Mo'at following suit. He hadn't told her about what had happened at Neytiri's grave but now that she was with him, perhaps he-

"WHAT?!" Came a loud yell in the distance, from the direction of Mo'at's hut and when he looked, Jake came rushed out of the small structure with Normspellman following closely behind. Upon spotting him and Mo'at, Jake came storming over to them with Norm trailing closely behind seeming to try and calm him down. Tsu'tey turned to ask Mo'at what was going on, but her face had gone from concerned to an almost challenging look as she watched a fuming Jake approach. He stopped a few feet away, panting with rage, Norm standing behind him unsure of what was about to happen.

"You didn't tell me..." he said through clenched teeth, "-that I have to be Tsu'tey's…_mate._" Jake spat out the last word as if it were poison. Confused at this turn of events Tsu'tey turns to Mo'at who still looked defiantly at Jake.

"This true? Jake is to be my bond mate?" She glanced over at Tsu'tey for a moment before looking back at Jake.

"He proven to have gift, my decision is final. Jakesully is next Tsahik." Jake's growl became more feral as he turned to Tsu'tey.

"Do you have anything to say?!" To be honest he didn't. The fact that Jake had the gift and has been chosen to be the next Tsahik is a big surprise as is; adding to that him now being Tsu'tey's mate is exciting; he is proving to be very special. However Jake's response so far isn't… boding well. _'Perhaps I can word it correctly, so as to not anger him further.'_

"We… we could try." Jake's eyes went wide and his mouth opened slightly.

"You mean… you don't mind us having to be mates?" Looking around at a shocked Norm and a curious Mo'at, Tsu'tey steeled his resolve. He refuses to be a coward to his feelings again.

"I willing to mate for life with you." However that didn't seem to help, as Jake just ran a hand over his face groaning before turning to Mo'at, a pleading look on his face and his voice practically begging.

"Is there a way I can get out of this, there has got to be someone else…" But she shook her head.

"No other, only you." She relaxed though, and put a comforting hand on his shoulder as Norm spoke up.

"Take it from me, I didn't know my feelings towards other men until I dated a guy in high school." Jake turned on him, mouth set in a hard frown.

"But I loved Neytiri! With all my heart and soul I loved her! And even before her I loved women, I slept with women!" Norm stood his ground.

"I didn't say you didn't love her or you weren't straight, I'm just saying to give it a try. Short of being exiled you can't get out of this, and you said yourself that wasn't an option. Honestly speaking I'm jealous." Jake growled again, however it was clear he was beginning to run out of steam.

"Then why don't you be Tsahik?! You got the smarts for it and you like guys! Hell, you know the songs, the history, and the plants fifty times better than I do or ever could!" But Norm was shaking his head even from the beginning.

"Mo'at tried several tests. I don't have the gift, and believe me I would love to be in your position. The fifth Toruk Makto in all of Omaticaya history, conqueror of the RDA, now future Tsahik of the tribe! You've done so many great things, helped so many people, and have given so much, but now-" Norm puts both hands onto Jake's shoulders and turns him to face Tsu'tey who is surprised by the action. "-you have been given a second chance at love. It may not be what you were expecting but here you have someone willing to spend their life with you."

"Norm, I-" He interrupted Jake before he could protest.

"You've so far jumped headlong into every situation without really thinking things through, from coming to Pandora without even a smidgen of knowledge about the place to going against all of human kind for a humanoid species you barely knew for four months. Why start thinking things through now?" Jake nervously looked into Tsu'tey's eyes, but instead of being met with a hard glare of some sort like he's used to, Tsu'tey's eyes are full of… hope? Shoulders slumping and head bowed Jake gives up, seeing absolutely no way out. He then looks over his shoulder and asks.

"How did you get so damn good at speeches?" Norm gave a quick smile.

"I read a lot of romance novels." Now shrugging off Norm's hands, Jake turns to look at Mo'at who had been silently observing the exchange.

"Fine… I'll… I'll try, but…" he looks at Tsu'tey, "I need time. This is a lot to take in for one day. Just give me a few days to process all of this." Tsu'tey nods, understand and quietly rejoicing at now having the ability to properly court Jake. Jake turns once again to Mo'at. "I'll keep up my studies with you, but I want Norm to help." When Mo'at agreed Norm began to sputter a little.

"M-me? I'm not even one of the tribe yet, I still have to go through all the rituals!" Jake shrugged. Mo'at had agreed so that was that. It was then that Jake felt a warm hand on the junction between his shoulder and neck. When he looked he saw Tsu'tey looked very nervous as he began to speak.

"Jake, I you take all time needed. I will wait." And with that Tsu'tey let his hand drop and went over to the fires where the food was being made. Mo'at bowed her head and left as well leaving Norm and Jake alone. A moment later Jake shook his head and dragged Norm over to the food, he wasn't all that hungry, but it would help him take his mind off of his current situation.


	4. Giving In

Hello my fabulous readers! I am sorry for the wait but college, life, and silly stuff like that got in my way. But no more! I had to bump up the rating because of the content, nothing sexual but innuendos abound! If people review enough for this and the next few chapters I may consider writing a sex scene. But if you want it ya gotta tell me! So read, review, and most important of all, enjoy my work. :)

"English speach."

_{Na'vi Speach.}_

_"Flashback speach"_

_'Thoughts'_

* * *

"Remind me again why we're out hunting when there's plenty of food back at Hometree?" Asked Jake, as he stepped over a large tree root. Tsu'tey looked over his shoulder at his mate to be before turning back forward and continuing on, remembering what Norm had said.

"_Why not take him out hunting?'_ Norm had suggested, _'It's something you both have in common and like doing."_ Tsu'tey's face scrunched, it is certainly not something special like he had been thinking, but he had no better idea. It had been a little awkward asking Jake to come with him, seeing as it had only been three days since Jake had agreed to become Tsahik, but he still came. Unfortunately so far there was little suitable game, and the ones they saw were too far off or in unfavorable angles. To Tsu'tey's dismay, this is certainly not what he had hoped for.

"Fun." Was the only response Jake got. He huffed and continued on. It had been quite the surprised when Tsu'tey had asked Jake to come along with him. Generally when Tsu'tey hunted it was with the other hunters or by himself, never with just one other. This had made Jake a little uneasy, however it was all business so far. Then Jake remembered what Norm had said to him before he left.

"_This is a great opportunity for you to check him out. Don't give me that look, if you two are going to be mates, which you are, you have to at least try to find something attractive about him. Give it a shot, it isn't all that hard."_ Sighing, Jake looked over Tsu'tey's back as they continued in their search for proper game. Overall Tsu'tey was like any other male Na'vi he'd come across, a little more serious with a temper to match was his only real attributes.

'_Well that's a bit of a lie'_ Jake thought as Tsu'tey held up a hand to stop, his eyes locked onto something in the distance as both he and Jake go down to a crouch, _'he's the best hunter in the tribe, and other than Mo'at he knows the most English, he likes flying just as much as I do. What else…'_ As Tsu'tey knocked his bow Jake watched his shoulder muscles flex with power, but slowly his gaze begins to drift lower down his back. Jake quirks an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth quirking upward a little at the sight of Tsu'tey's buttocks, _'huh, seems he's the only Na'vi that I recall having an almost bubble butt, I suppose that's-'_ Jake froze, his peripheral vision catching movement. He slowly looks up to see a smirking Tsu'tey, looking right at him with an almost smug expression.

"You like?" Jake's eyes went wide as he tried to come up with an excuse as to why he was looking at him, but that got derailed when Tsu'tey used his tail to seductively traced his own thigh like those women do to new machines for sale during infomercials. It most certainly didn't help that Tsu'tey also spread his stance just ever so slightly wider, almost giving Jake a perfect view of…

"I-is that your kill over there, I-I-I'll clean you for it, I-I mean, clean it for you!" Jake hurriedly stood and rushed off to Tsu'tey's right, frantically looking for the kill.

"Jake." Jake stopped and turned around, still slightly panicked, but Tsu'tey just pointed over to his left where in the distance both could clearly see Tsu'tey's arrow sticking out of a medium sized animal.

"I knew that!" Was his strained reply as he all but ran over to the animal and, forgetting the prayer, began to messily gut the carcass. Tsu'tey chuckled under his breath as he watched Jake, he has seen many Na'vi blush before, but never has he seen one blush such a dark color.

'_Perhaps I should ask Norm for ideas more often.'_

^-oo0oo-^

The walk back was made in silence, Tsu'tey carrying the cleaned carcass on his shoulders while Jake walked behind him, forcing his eyes to stay in appropriate places and not straying to Tsu'tey's butt again. That's not a hole he wants to fall into again. Jake facepalms himself at his bad unintentional pun as they finally enter the clearing around Hometree. A few Na'vi turned to watch as they passed with their kill but none said a word and quickly returned to their tasks. They dropped off the kill at the cooking fires before parting, Tsu'tey to go clean the blood from the animal off his body and Jake, before he cleans as well, goes in search of Norm to throttle the nerd.

He wasn't hard to find, as he was in his usual off time perch on a low branch that just so happened to look out over where the mostly male hunters and warriors hung out. Jake dragged a startled Norm to his feet and held him in place with his grip tight on Norm's shoulders and a fierce glare. However the quick burst of anger faded just as suddenly as it came; Jake didn't loosen his grip, but instead turned it into a tight hug with his face buried in Norms shoulder. A little awkwardly Norm returned it.

"Umm… I…uh… take it the hunting thing was a bad idea?" Jake groaned.

"I don't know Norm, I… I did like you said and… well…" Now extremely curious and a tad hopeful, Norm pressed.

"You found something hot about Tsu'tey?" Jake tensed and for a moment Norm thought he would let go and walk off but instead Jake relaxed again.

"He…he caught me staring at his ass…" Jake elaborated on what had led up to the 'thing'. When Norm heard what Tsu'tey did, Jake wasn't sure, but he thought for a second he felt something bump against his thigh but dismissed it. When he finished Norm patted Jake's back.

"Isn't it a good thing you're starting to find stuff attractive about him?" Jake let go and took a few steps back, running both his hands over his face before spreading his arms wide.

"I don't know! I'm just… damnit… I'm just so confused. Help me to understand this crap!" Slowly, Norm approached his emotional friend and placed a hand on his arm.

"I will, I promise. But first you might want to wash up a bit; crusty blood isn't very becoming of a handsome future Tsahik." Jake smiled a bit, nodding. But as he was turning to leave he turned back around.

"You think I'm handsome?" Norm rolls his eyes.

"That's what you get from that conversation?" Jake just looked smug as Norm snorts and turns back to his perch on the branch.

Jake makes his way to a nearby pond, taking Norm's advice. He needs alone time anyway before he talks with Norm, however when he breaks through the thick foliage around the pond he is met with a sight that freezes him in his tracks. There, by himself, is Tsu'tey, waist deep in the water using a wooden bowl to run water down his body while wiping the blood from his shoulders, back, and chest. Jake seemed entranced as he watched Tsu'tey quietly clean himself, his cheeks going a dark purple when he realized that Tsu'tey did not have his loincloth on but thanked Eywa the water wasn't completely crystal clear. Jake tensed when one of Tsu'tey's eyes cracked open and saw him, but Tsu'tey just resumed cleaning himself undisturbed by Jake's staring. Taking a deep breath Jake walked forward and knelt down, beginning to furiously clean his hands of the dried blood. Halfway through a second pair of hands gently grabbed his, halting Jake's cleaning. However Jake didn't look up, but he didn't fight either as Tsu'tey took one of Jake's hands in his and slowly began to clean the now rehydrated blood off of his blue skin.

Soon enough both of his hands were clean, but Tsu'tey didn't let go. Instead he entwined their fingers together and for a while they both were silent; the only sounds the water lapping at the edge of the pond and the occasional breeze brushing through the massive trees and fauna. There was no tension, no fear, just peaceful quiet. When Jake looked into Tsu'tey's eyes, a certain warmth was there that he can only place as love and longing radiating from the twin pools of golden-green. Sighing Jake gave in.

"Tsu'tey?"

"Yes, Jakesully?" Tsu'tey's voice, calm and soothing, seeming to pick up on the seriousness Jake was trying to convey.

"I've… I…" Jake couldn't seem to get the words to come out, "You… we-" Tsu'tey pressed a finger to Jake's lips. Then his hand went to cup Jake's cheek and he leaned in, gently placing a kiss on Jake's other cheek before pulling back and smiling.

"I understand. We go talk to Mo'at to begin ritual trials." Tsu'tey stood fully out of the water and walked off to dry and redress in is scant clothing, leaving a blushing Jake behind at the bank of the pond touching the place where Tsu'tey had kissed him.


End file.
